News for the Young Punjab!

BEWARE: Galaxy Note 7 phone may explode (Video)

Samsung suspended sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on last Friday, just two weeks after the flagship phone’s launch, after finding batteries of some of the gadgets exploded while they were charging. The company also delayed the flagship’s phone launch in India till the problem is sorted out. However thousands of India who bought phone overseas or in grey market still face this risk.

Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business, said customers who already bought Galaxy Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of when they purchased them.

Samsung is issuing what amounts to its first global recall of the flagship smartphone. Galaxy Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States.

Koh said the company’s investigation found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. He refused to name the battery supplier. “There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process so it was very difficult to find out,” Koh told reporters at a news conference.

Some buyers reported their phones caught fire or exploded while charging, sharing the photos of scorched phones on social media. Samsung said it had confirmed 35 such cases in South Korea and overseas. There have been no reports of injuries related to the problem.

Samsung said it has sold more than 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones since the product’s August 19 launch. The company estimated that it would take about two weeks to begin swapping old Galaxy Note 7s for new phones.

A YouTube user uploaded a video under the name Ariel Gonzalez on 29 August of a Galaxy Note 7 with burnt rubber casing and damaged screen. He said the handset “caught fire” shortly after he unplugged the official Samsung charger, less than a fortnight after purchasing it.